JPH0377420B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to water flow control for water heaters.

Conventional Structure and Problems There are already known methods in the field of water heaters for detecting the temperature of hot water and adjusting the amount of gas and water.

As shown in FIG. 1, it has a burner A, a fuel control valve B, and a heat exchanger C, and a temperature detector D that detects the hot water temperature and a comparator that compares the output of the temperature setting device;
According to the output of the comparator E, the control valve F and the fuel control valve B of the water passage are controlled.

In this conventional example, the amount of water is constant during normal operation, and the amount of water is not changed over time.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to change the amount of water at high speed and moment by moment when using a water heater, and to provide a pine surge effect particularly when using a shower.

Composition of the Invention In order to achieve this object, the present invention provides a water flow controller that controls the flow of water through the heat exchanger using a valve seat of the heat exchanger and a solenoid valve that opens and closes the valve seat. The amount of water and the minimum amount of water are determined by opening and closing the solenoid valve. The electromagnetic valve is driven by a signal that is sent from a signal generator and whose magnitude continuously changes over time, and is configured to change the amount of water at high speed over time.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS A case where an embodiment of the present invention is applied to a gas water heater will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3.

In FIG. 2, reference numeral 1 denotes a water flow controller, and water enters a valve chamber 3 from an inflow path 2, and flows into a primary chamber 6 through a gap between a control valve 4 and a control hole 5. Reference numeral 7 denotes a diaphragm that operates together with the control valve 4, and the other side forms a secondary chamber, and the secondary chamber 8 has a control spring 9 that urges it toward the primary chamber 6.

The water flowing into the primary chamber 6 passes through a bypass hole 10 that sets the minimum water amount and a valve seat 11, and then passes through a heat exchanger 12.
The hot water is heated and supplied to the outlet pipe 13.
The downstream side of the bypass hole 10 and the valve seat 11 is a communication hole 14.
This will lead you to secondary room 8. The electromagnetic valve 15 that opens and closes the valve seat 11 has a movable part 17 that operates the valve body 16.
and the solenoid 18 and yoke 19 that form the magnetic circuit.
and a spring 20 that presses the valve body 16 against the valve seat. The solenoid valve 15 is the signal generator 2
A valve seat 11 is set in the water flow controller 1 to allow the maximum amount of water to flow when the valve body 16 is opened by being driven by the signal No. 1. By opening and closing the valve body 16, the differential pressure between the primary chamber 6 and the secondary chamber 8 changes, and this differential pressure acts on the diaphragm 7 to drive the control valve 4. A heating device 22 heats the heat exchanger 12, and the amount of heating is adjusted by a gas amount adjusting device 24.

Although the electromagnetic valve 15 uses a plunger type magnetic circuit in the embodiment of the present invention, it may be a solenoid valve having any type of magnetic circuit, such as a fulcrum type or a rotary solenoid, as long as it can open and close the valve body 16. In addition, since the valve body 16 is opened and closed, it can be opened and closed at a high speed, and is suitable for rhythmic and high-speed changes in water volume.

Next, the operation will be explained. When the water flow starts in FIG. 2, the flow of water activates a flow switch (not shown), and the signal from the signal generator 21 activates the solenoid valve 15 to open the valve body 16.
The maximum amount of water flows through the water flow controller 1, and the heat exchanger 12
The hot water flows into the hot water, is heated, and is supplied to the outside from the outlet pipe 13.

The heating device 2 is activated by the signal from the flow switch.
Combustion of 2 starts and the temperature of the water rises. Then, when the switch 23 is closed manually or automatically, the signal generator 21 sends an opening/closing signal to the solenoid valve 15, and the operation of the solenoid valve 15 opens and closes the valve body 16, thereby opening and closing the primary chamber 6 and the secondary chamber 8. The differential pressure changes, and this differential pressure acts on the diaphragm 7 to drive the control valve 4 to change the amount of water. The amount of water changes every moment depending on the signal sent by the signal generator 21.

Figure 3 shows the temporal changes in water volume. In the case where the signal from the signal generator 21 is sent out at regular intervals, the water amount changes repeatedly in the range of the maximum water amount and the minimum water amount by opening and closing the solenoid valve 15. In this way, the amount of water continuously changes with the passage of time, so if this is used for a shower, the changes in the strength of the water when it hits the bather's skin will provide a pleasant stimulation and have a pine surge effect. The maximum water flow rate and the minimum water flow rate are set by the bypass hole 10 and the valve seat 11 in an optimal water flow range according to the capacity of the heating device 22.

FIG. 4 shows the change in water volume when the signal from the signal generator is sent to the electromagnetic valve at non-regular intervals.

In this way, the change period can be freely changed by the signal sent out by the signal generator 21.

Since the amount of hot water heated by the heat exchanger 12 is the average flow rate of the maximum water amount and the minimum flow rate, the gas amount adjustment device 24 sets the temperature of the hot water optimally. Note that if the heat exchanger 12 and the heating device 22 are located outdoors and away from the place where the shower is used, the water flow controller 1 may be separated from the heat exchanger 12 and placed downstream of the heat exchanger 12. A similar effect can be achieved.

Effects of the Invention As described above, the present invention allows the size to continuously change over time.
If this is used in a shower, the amount of water that hits the bather's skin will vary in intensity, creating a pleasant stimulation and creating a pine surge effect, resulting in a comfortable shower.

In addition, since the valve seat of the water flow controller is opened and closed by a solenoid valve, it can be opened and closed at high speed by a motor or the like, so it is possible to change the water flow rhythmically and at high speed.

In addition, since the optimum water temperature can be obtained with an average amount of water, fuel and water consumption can be saved.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a block diagram of a conventional water heater, Fig. 2 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the water heater of the present invention, and Fig. 3 is a block diagram of a conventional water heater.
FIG. 4 is a characteristic diagram showing a periodic change in water amount of the embodiment of the water heater of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a characteristic diagram showing a non-periodic change in water amount of the embodiment of the water heater of the invention. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Water flow controller, 11... Valve seat, 12... Heat exchanger, 16... Valve body, 15... Solenoid valve, 21... Signal generator, 22... Heating device.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A heat exchanger, a heating device that heats the heat exchanger, a valve seat, a solenoid valve that opens and closes the valve seat, and a water flow rate of the heat exchanger controlled by the solenoid valve. and a signal generator that generates a signal that sends a signal to the electromagnetic valve to continuously change the water flow rate of the water flow controller over time. 2. The water heater according to claim 1, wherein the signal generator is configured to send a fixed-cycle signal to the electromagnetic valve. 3. The water heater according to claim 1, wherein the signal generator is configured to send a non-regular periodic signal to the electromagnetic valve.